Safety door catch



Feb. 16, 1943'. W N, SCHNELL 2,311,132

SAFETY DOOR CATC H Filed Jan. 18, 1939 ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 16, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT IOFFICE SAFETY noon Caron wiuiam N. schnell, Detroit, man.

Application January 13, 1939, serial No. 251,449

7 Claims. (C1. 292-219) as passengers in a sedan. to provide a locking means which will prevent the rear doors from being opened from the inside.

An object of the present invention is to provide a' safety catch arranged to prevent the ope'ning of the back door of a vehicle as long as the front door is closed. The catch vis also adapted to permit the closing of the rear door after the front door has been closed and is so arranged that the rear door may be opened from the outside without opening the front door.

Other objects and features vof the invention having to do with details of construction will be particularly brought out in the following description and claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a vehicle illustrating the safety catch in operative position.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 2 showing the rear door closing with the front door already closed.

Fig. 4 is a. section taken on the lines 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a rear perspective view of the catch.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the latch member of the catch.

Referring to the drawing, in Fig. 1 a front door of a-four-door vehicle is shown at I0, a rear door at II and a pillar at I2. Standard handles I 3 are provided on the outside of the doors. As will be seen from the sections of Figs. 2 and 3, each door is provided with vertical flanges I4 and I5, respectively, which overlap the pillar I2.

The present invention contemplates a removable stud-like member I6 which has a latch I1 pivoted therein. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 particularly, the member I8 is roughly triangular in shape and has a notch I8 which is to receive a ilange I4 of the front door. A set screw I9 serves to hold the member i6 on the flange. The stud member I6 is so dimensioned that a leg portion 20, forming one side of the notch, will lie between the flange I4 and the pillar I2 when the front door I0 is closed. The stud I8 is designed 65 so that the flange I5 will clear the stud at all times.

As shown particularly inv Fig. 3, the stud is provided with a triangular opening 2| which faces toward the rear door. Within this opening the triangularly shaped latch member I1 is provided on a p'in 22. The latch member I1 is provided with a projection 23 near the pin 22 and.` this projection is adapted to contact a shoulder 24 on the stud I6. This limits the outward movement of the latch from the opening 2I in which it moves. A spring recess 25 is provided on one flat surface of the latch I'I near the pivot hole and a spring 28 urges the latch I'I to its outermost position, shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

When the device is fastened on the front door flange I4, as shown in Fig. 2, and both doors I0 and Il are closed, it will be seen that the latch I'I blocks the outward movement of the flange I5 so that the rear door may not be opened as long as the front door is closed. 'I'he front door, however, is free to be opened or closed. In Fig. 3 the safety latch is shown on a closed front door and the rear door II is being closed against a slanting edge 21 of the latch I'i. In case a person on the outside of the car desired to open the rear door without opening the front door, it would be possible to do so by pressing the latch I'I into the opening 2l far enough so that the edge of the ange I5 could pass. Other types of spring devices could, of course, be used to urge the latch I1 to its outward position without departing from the spirit of the invention. When the latch is mounted as 'shown in Fig. 1, between the door handles I3, it does not project away from the body beyond these handles and consequently presents a neat and ornamental appearance.

If desired a lock may be provided, on the latch member I1, to hold it within the stud member I8 except when its use is desired.

What I claim is:

i 1. A catch to be used on a vehicle of the type having, on either side, two doors which close to one pillar and each of which has an outside surface flange overlapping said pillar, comprising a first portion to be fastened to the flange of one door, and a second portion movable on said first portion and normally extending past the edge of the second door on the same side, whereby said second door may not be opened except when said first door is open, said second portion being movable on said rst portion and arranged to cooperate with said second door whereby said second portion will be temporarily and automatically shifted from its normal position when said second door is closed after the first door.

2. A catch to be used on a vehicle of the type having, on either side, two doors which close to one pillar, comprising a member to be fastened ai: the free edge of one of said doors, and a second member pivoted on said flrst member and normally extending over the free edge of the second door on the same side of the vehicle but movable to a position permitting the second door to close, and means acting on said second member to maintain the same in its normal position, but permitting said second member to be moved toward the flrst member to clear the second door, whereby the opening of said second door is blocked when said first door is closed, said second member being arranged to cooperate with said second door whereby said second door may be moved past said second member to closed position when said first door is closed.

` 3. A catch to be used on a vehicle ofthe type having, on either side, two doors which close to one pillar, comprising a member to be fastened at the free edge of one of said doors and shaped to clear the free edge of a second adjacent door, a second member pivoted on said 4first member and movable from a normal position wherein it blocks the opening of said second door, to a position wherein it clears the free edge of said second door, and means for resiliently maintaining said second member in its normal position, said second member being shaped to present a slanting latch surface to the free edge of the second door when said second door is closed after the first door and being arranged to cooperate with the free edge of the second door whereby during the closing movement of the second door, the second member wil-1 be temporarily moved from its normal blocking position.

4. In combination, a vehicle of the type having, on either side, two doors which close to one pillar, vertical flanges on said doors extending over said pillar, and a safety latch means comprising a rstmember to be fastened on the flange of one of said doors, a second member on said rst member normally extending past the flange of the second door on the same side, whereby said second door may not be opened except when said first door is open and means for movably mounting the second member on said flrst member whereby the flange on the second door cooperates with the second member to move it temporarily from its normal position during the clos ing movement of the second door.

5. In combination, a vehicle of the type having, on either side, two doors which close to one pillar, vertical flanges on said doors extending over said pillar, and a safety latch means comprising a first member having a vertical notch to receive one of said flanges and provided with a substantially horizontal slot, a triangular latch member pivoted at one corner in said slot of the first member, means for limiting the movement of said latch out of said slot, and means for normally resiliently maintaining said latch member over the flange of a second adjacent door of said vehicle whereby the opening of said second door is blocked.

6. In a safety catch for use inconnection with the overlap flanges of two adioining doors, a body member, means fastening said body member to one overlap flange, a spring projected latch member supported in said body movable by contact with the other overlap flange when the door closes and projecting, upon the closure, in front of the said other overlap flange to prevent the same opening until the first flange is opened.

'7. In a safety catch for use in connection with the overlap flanges of two adjoining doors, comprising a member that may be fastened to one overlap flange, jaws formed on said member to receive and be clamped to said overlap flange, said member supporting a spring projected latch member movable by contact with the other overlap flange when the door closes and projecting, upon the closure, in front of the said other overlap flange to prevent the same opening until the rst flange is opened.

WILLIAM N. SCHNELL. 

